Clam-fork.



F. J. OVENS.

CLAM FORK.

APPLICATION mm SEPT- n. ma.

1,230,766. Patented June-19, 1917.

q vihmooeo UNIT D STATES PATENT orrion.

FLORENCE J'. OVENS, OF YORK'BEAC'H, MAINE.

oLAM-ronK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FLORENCE J. OVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at York Beach, in the county of York and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clam-Forks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to a clam fork.

The object of the invention is to improve the construction of forks and to provide a simple, practical, and comparatively inexpensive device designed for use in din ing rooms and other eating places and equipped with coacting cutting blades for severing or cutting away the head of a clam and provided with prongs adapted to form a fork when the instrument is closed for enabling the clam to be eaten.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a plan view of a clam fork constructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same,

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the clam fork comprises in its construction two similar members 1 having substantially flat intermediate por tions 2 fitted against each other and piv-: oted by a screw, rivet 3 or other suitable fastening device and movable on each other similar to the pivoted portions of an ordinary pair of scissors to permit the members to open and close. The members are provided with handles 4 and 5 which may have openings 6 and 7 for the reception Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 1 1119 19, 1917, Application filed September .17, 1915. Serial no. 51,239. I

of the thumb and fingers for enabling the members to be operated similar to an ordinary pa1r of scissors but the handles of the members may be of any other desired construction or design.

The members 1 are provided with blades 8 provlded at the inner portions of their side edges with beveled or cutting edges 9 and havlng terminal prongs 10 which form a fork when the instrument is closed as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. The cutting edges 9 are arranged at an angle to each other when the members are opened and closed and they are adapted to be employed for cutting away or severing the head of the clam. Each of the blades is shown in the accompanying drawing as being provided with a pair of tines but the number of tines of the fork may be varied as wlll be readily understood and the members are preferably provided at the inner ends of the tines with a curved bend 11 for extending the tines upwardly as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The inner edges of the handles 4: and. 5 engage each other when the instrument is closed and form a stop to hold the innnermost prongs at the terminals of the blades in spaced relation so as to form a single unitary fork structure. The instrument is designed for use in dining rooms, restaurants and other eating places and may be made plain or ornamental and of any desired material.

What is claimed is 1. A clam fork comprising two members having intermediate portions fitted flat against each other and pivoted together, said members having handles and provided with blades having coacting cutting edges at the inner portions of their side edges, and each provided beyond the cutting edges with a plurality of terminal prongs, and the prongs of both members lying in parallel planes and coacting to form a single unitary terminal fork structure when the members are closed.

' 2. A clam fork including two substantially similar members having fiat intermediate portions pivoted together, said members having handles and provided with blades movable over each other and provided at the inner portions of their side edges with coacting cutting edges, each of means to hold the innermost prongs, at the said members having a plurality of terminal I ends of the blades in spaced relation. 10 prongs, and said blades being curved lon- In testimony whereof I affix my signature gitudinally in parallelism to extend the in presence of tWo Witnesses.

prongs upwardly and the prongs of both FLORENCE J. OVENS.

members lying in parallel planes, and form- Witnesses: ing a single unitary terminal supporting MARY M. HOGARTH, structure when the device is closed, and MARGARET W. M. BOWEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Weshingtom-ID. 0. 

